VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS AND VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD

• US 20120323427A1
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masaya, Endo, Hiroki
• Application Number:
  US13/581,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20120323427A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/50 Control strategies for responding to system failures, e.g. for fault diagnosis, failsafe operation or limp mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/246 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/184 Preventing damage resulting from overload or excessive wear of the driveline
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles

Abstract

An ECU executes a program including the steps of: executing first restriction control if the temperature of coolant is equal to or greater than a first temperature and smaller than a second temperature; executing second restriction control if the temperature of the coolant is equal to or greater than the second temperature; and executing normal control if the temperature of the coolant is smaller than the first temperature.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus installed in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric rotating machine as driving sources, said vehicle including said electric rotating machine, electric equipment operating upon driving of said electric rotating machine, a power storage device supplying electric power to said electric rotating machine and said electric equipment and being rechargeable using an external power source, and a cooling device for cooling said electric equipment using a cooling medium,

said vehicle control apparatus comprising:

a medium temperature detection unit for detecting a temperature of said cooling medium; and

a control unit for determining an upper limit value of discharged power from said power storage device in accordance with the temperature of said cooling medium and controlling discharged power from said power storage device so as not to exceed the determined said upper limit value, wherein

if the temperature of said cooling medium increases from a first temperature to a second temperature, said control unit determines said upper limit value such that a reduction rate of said upper limit value in accordance with an increase of the temperature of said cooling medium at a time when said vehicle runs in a first running state of running using motive power of said electric rotating machine with said internal combustion engine shut down is greater than a reduction rate of said upper limit value in accordance with an increase of the temperature of said cooling medium at a time when said vehicle runs in a second running state of running using both motive power of said internal combustion engine and motive power of said electric rotating machine.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power storage device temperature detection unit for detecting a temperature of said power storage device, wherein

if the temperature of said power storage device is equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature and if the temperature of said cooling medium is equal to or smaller than said first temperature, said control unit controls discharged power from said power storage device by increasing the upper limit value of said discharged power in accordance with the temperature of said power storage device when said vehicle runs in said first running state as compared with when said vehicle runs in said second running state.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the temperature of said cooling medium is greater than said second temperature, said control unit determines the upper limit value of said discharged power in the case where said vehicle runs in said second running state, as the upper limit value of said discharged power in the case where said vehicle runs in said first running state.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the temperature of said cooling medium increases from said first temperature to said second temperature, said control unit determines said upper limit value such that said upper limit value decreases linearly with respect to the temperature increase of said cooling medium.

5. A vehicle control method installed in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric rotating machine as driving sources, said vehicle including said electric rotating machine, electric equipment operating upon driving of said electric rotating machine, a power storage device supplying electric power to said electric rotating machine and said electric equipment and being rechargeable using an external power source, and a cooling device for cooling said electric equipment using a cooling medium,

said vehicle control method comprising:

detecting a temperature of said cooling medium; and

determining an upper limit value of discharged power from said power storage device in accordance with the temperature of said cooling medium and controlling discharged power from said power storage device so as not to exceed said upper limit value determined in said step of determining an upper limit value, wherein

if the temperature of said cooling medium increases from a first temperature to a second temperature, said step of controlling determines said upper limit value such that a reduction rate of said upper limit value in accordance with an increase of the temperature of said cooling medium at a time when said vehicle runs in a first running state of running using motive power of said electric rotating machine with said internal combustion engine shut down is greater than a reduction rate of said upper limit value in accordance with an increase of the temperature of said cooling medium at a time when said vehicle runs in a second running state of running using both motive power of said internal combustion engine and motive power of said electric rotating machine.